Banks don't want these clients' cash: Report

New government regulations make loads of extra cash a burden for banks, which have privately urged major clients to take their deposits elsewhere or face fees, TheWall Street Journal reported late on Sunday.

Deposits have been a key part of banking, and have traditionally been free for large clients, the paper said.

New U.S. banking rules that take effect on Jan. 1 require higher minimum reserves to protect banks from sudden outflows during a situation like the 2008 financial crisis, the paper said. Those requirements make holding large, uninsured deposits more expensive for banks, which pass on those costs as client fees of possibly several thousand a year.

The European Central Bank's decision to charge firms for holding cash at the ECB has resulted in fees for euro deposits by institutional clients at banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Bank of New York Mellon, the newspaper said.